Occasionally it is desirable to determine the vertical height of a point spaced a substantial distance from an initial point so as to establish a level condition therebetween. Transits and like instruments employing optical systems to achieve this result are generally expensive and relatively complicated so as to preclude their general use by home handymen, etc. It has heretofore been proposed to utilize devices wherein two members provided with some form of indicating means were coupled by pipes, hoses or the like and moved relative to each other until the liquid level in each of the two members was identical, thereby establishing a level condition therebetween. Exemplary of such devices are the following patents:
______________________________________ Patentee U.S. Pat. No. Granted ______________________________________ A. Gamble 451,680 May 5, 1891 J. Darragh 532,949 January 22, 1895 I. Husey 1,231,162 June 26, 1917 J. Richardson 1,576,470 March 9, 1926 J.B. Boyd 2,150,048 March 7, 1939 F.C. Waldo 2,566,102 August 28, 1951 O.T. Houge 2,789,365 April 23, 1957 G. Blatchford 2,814,127 November 26, 1957 J.M. Chapman 3,015,167 January 2, 1962 H.O. Haissig et al 3,132,428 May 12, 1964 ______________________________________
Generally, such devices have failed to provide means to avoid loss of the liquid within the assembly in the event that one of the two members is disposed substantially below the other causing the water level to rise above its vertical height and when one of the members is inadvertently skewed substantially from the vertical. Several of the devices have proposed various valve arrangements to alleviate one or both of these possible conditions for losing the liquid within the system, but generally the valve arrangements proposed have been either ineffective or relatively expensive.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel elongated flexible level assembly for use as a transit or the like which is relatively simple and economical to fabricate and which includes means for minimizing the likelihood of inadvertent loss of liquid from the assembly.
It is also an object to provide such a level assembly which is simple and rugged in construction and which may be readily disassembled for storage.
Another object is to provide such a level assembly wherein liquid may be readily introduced at the time of use or removed after use has been completed.